The Darker Half
by hrhgoldentrio3
Summary: Rewrite of the Dark Forgotten One. WBWL, Harry Potter is ignored in favor of his twin brother due to a misunderstanding in the prophecy. However, the relationship between Dark and Light is not what it really seems. DARK Harry embraces his new powers and creates his own side in the war.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

AN: Well, it's been about 2 or so years since I've even looked at the Dark Forgotten One. Now that I've started reading fanfiction again and getting back into the hang of Harry Potter, I've decided to redo the Dark Forgotten One. This is a more darker and realistic take on the Wrong Boy Who Lived and the Harry Potter Twin theory. Looking back at the Dark Forgotten One, the grammar and overall idea just makes me cringe. Hopefully this is finished by the time I graduate :) Just a general sorry to those who were disappointed with my desertion of , this time I will make sure this is finished, but updates may be even months in between.

Here's to the Darker Half, Chapter 1: The Beginning

Through his viewpoint, Harry supposed that everyone started off as a weed. Through germination to finally sprouting from the ground, there was no difference in anyone's existence. Everyone was a weed, and everyone aspired to the great grand tree that provided shade and shelter through the dusty summers and snowy winters. However, the differences began to show just as cracks show in the sidewalk. Some were nurtured more than others, given a little more water, just a little more sunshine. Within each patch of dull weeds there would sprout some weeds that grew faster than others, greener and healthier. As time passed on the surrounding weeds would die, and the healthy weed would continue to grow from the death of each of its kind. Its roots grew longer and stronger, sneaking through others and slowly strangling them until they could only give in. But for every strong weed that was taller and arose from the roots of others, the shadows of death seemed to turn darker over this weed just as the grand old tree approached closer and closer.

Society was like this to Harry. Some grew up in loving families, with the proper care and nutrients. They had the right kind of education and always trustworthy friends. Eventually those surrounding the fast growers continued to give up their time or belongings to help them further their course in life. Sometimes this required sacrifices, sometimes even death. But this strong weed did not find the time to look down at the weeds surrounding its roots; it could only look up at the grand old tree, an everlasting God or force of nature, maybe even Magic herself.

There was no gardener to guide Harry, no caring nurturer to provide what he needed most. Instead, without the love and attention that a child desires, he just withered. But that didn't stop him from continuing to grow, no; instead Harry continued to rise above the stronger weeds. He grew thorns to keep away the others, developed poisons to prevent predators. He became something not quite human, not quite demon, not even a weed. He was the stubborn child of nature, not willing to give up, defying destiny and fate. All Harry wanted to do was surpass that white lily flower that grew within his patch of weeds, the one that his parents and elders naively tried to protect. Harry wanted to make its white petals stained red. Then, Harry supposed, he could pass even the grand old tree, squeezing his roots around it, strangling it until its last breath, when he would say;

"A withered flower can never bloom again, but a thorny bush will struggle against its fate."

* * *

It all started that chilly October night, the night of Halloween, a rather poor imitation of Samhain, the day to celebrate the end of season and a new beginning. However, this night was true to its date by opening the doors to the dawn of a new age that would forever change wizarding history.

The laughter of wizarding children rang through his ears as he silently glided by. With a slight hiss in annoyance, he wandered into the street of the Potters, within Godric's Hallow. His finger twitched slightly at a girl in a muggle costume. Just a wave of his finger and the silly witch who was interested in disgusting mudbloods would be forever silenced. Magic amazed him; through magic he gained the power of a thousand strings of life that he would chose to snip or keep. Scowling, he continued his journey onto a lonely winding path leading to seemingly nothing. The gate was actually unlatched. He heard the springs squeaking slightly as a breeze whispered through, the gate swinging slightly as lonely as can be. With a gentle touch the gate sprang open and he walked through.

"Potter Manor, Lionheart Road, Godric's Hallow," he whispered to himself. Like a coating of snow being dusted away, Voldemort gave a twisted grin as he saw the revealed house.

With the foolish blood traitor Potter and his darling mudblood painfully knocked out with a curse, Voldemort continued his journey up the stairs. It seemed like every light was turned on, he cursed as he wished to be in his dark dungeon. Reaching the hallway, every door was closed except the one at the end of the hall, its door knob barely touching the edge of the doorway.

A wave of fingers later, Voldemort condescendingly looked down at two cribs placed closely together. Although young and not comprehending, the fearful eyes that looked back knew this was neither parent nor friend. Voldemort looked disdainfully at the twins, two worthless brats that stood in his way of mastering death and the dark arts.

"Shame your beloved parents could not see this. I would delight in their screams as they watch the lights drain out from your eyes," he mocked.

Pulling his wand from his robe, Voldemort pointed it in between the twins.

"At times like these I wish the death curse could apply to multiple people at the same time," he mused, "but seeing as you both will die, I think order doesn't matter tonight."

Innocent doe brown eyes looked at him from one crib, and icy green eyes from the other crib stared deep into his soul. Suppressing a shudder, since Dark Lords are above showing weak emotions, Voldemort realized those eyes matched with a green he was all too familiar with. But these eyes shone with not helpless fear, but calculating intelligence and maturity beyond what was possible for a child.

"_Avada Kadavra," _Voldemort said, pointing it at the green-eyed child that was unnerving him.

To his surprise, the child pointed a finger back at him, a ball of dark shadows concentrated at the tip. When the death curse touched it, it bounced back at Voldemort before he would actually comprehend what was happening.

"_This cannot be….why did the prophecy end like this? By trying to stop the prophecy, did I actually accelerate its path? Curse cruel destiny…" _Voldemort thought before being absorbed by his own dreaded curse.

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…_

_Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…_

_And he will marked by the Dark as his equal, but the other will have the power the Light knows not…_

_And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…_

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark will be born as the seventh month dies…" _


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Well, I have created an outline of the Darker Half, and expect around 20 chapters of this length or longer. The next update may take a while since school restarts for me, but I'll work on this a little bit at a time. I wasn't sure how to portray the Potter family without being the overly clichéd stories where Harry is abused and ignored completely beyond parenting instinct, so I hope this is somewhat realistic. Enjoy!

-hrhgoldentrio3

* * *

It was never outright abuse, nor obvious neglect. The Potter family still remained a family no matter what anybody thought, and every person was considered a member of the household. Still, it hurt young Harry to know that he was of lesser importance.

The aftermath of the fall of You-Know-Who passed in a blur. Harry had awakened in a St. Mungo's hospital room. As he groggily woke up, he noted the whispered murmurs of excitement and the feeling of joy in the room.

"Oh sweetie," mother said, noticing Harry awakening, "I'm glad you weren't hurt very badly. Do you remember anything that happened?"

Harry blinked, confused. Shaking his head, he asked, "Jamie?"

Harry was the older twin named Harold Charlus Potter, the first two names after his ancestors. James Daniel Potter was younger by about 2 minutes, named after James himself and Lily's father Daniel. Harry truly acted as an older brother to Jamie, almost as a protector. Jamie was always clumsy and seemed to rush head-first into more things, and sometimes Harry would try to stop him or give a little tug on the sleeve to warn him.

Harry remembered seeing a frightening man who had tried to threaten Jamie and himself, and Harry had tried to protect Jamie. Harry's eyes widened as he realized he somehow made the bad man disappear.

Lily smiled and gave Harry a hug. "Oh Harry, I'm not sure if you'll understand this, but your brother Jamie did a very, very good thing. He saved the world from a very bad man and protected you and himself."

Harry pondered a bit on that. Frowning a little bit, he tried to comprehend his mother's version of events. He didn't remember Jamie doing anything to the bad man, but as long as the Potter family was safe then it didn't really matter to Harry.

"Good Jamie!" Harry replied back with a smile.

Celebrations soon followed. The recapture and trial of Peter Pettigrew was very hard on James and Lily, but they knew they had to move on from a traitor that was never a true friend but rather a coward. Pettigrew was placed in prison, along with many other Death Eaters that were accused.

The Wizarding World celebrated for weeks at the end of the war. Even though this was a momentous event in history, not much changed within the Potter Household. Relocating to main Potter Manor in the English Countryside, Jamie and Harry were both treated as children their age were treated. Lily and James spent time caring for both, and Sirius and Remus visited often. The Potter Manor was often filled with laughter and smiles.

It all changed one sunny day when Dumbledore flooed into the Manor. The benevolent Albus Dumbledore gently adjusted his glasses before greeting the happy Potter parents. Dumbledore smiled and patted Harry and Jamie on the head. Harry with his inquisitive nature realized that Dumbledore didn't have the same twinkle he usually had.

Harry and Jamie played in the living room while Dumbledore was in discussion with James and Lily in the dining room. Harry had no idea that his very fate was being decided barely 20 feet away from him.

When Mother and Father emerged from the room, Harry noticed that they still gave them the same smiles although they carried a somewhat sad tone around them. When they thought no one was looking, their smiles would turn into frowns and smiling wrinkles turned into deep creases.

About the time that Harry turned 3, he realized that something had changed in his loving parents. They still would play with both of them and Mother still made delicious meals and they had nightly bedtime stories. But…Harry noticed that Jamie was given a little more attention. Jamie was always dressed and fed first, always addressed first before Harry. Harry still would get the same things Jamie would get, but just second to him. Harry grew very confused, because in his mindset he still viewed himself as the eldest.

The first time Harry's favorite uncles Sirius and Remus visited after Dumbledore had talked with Lily and James, Harry noticed the way they acted was different. Uncle Sirius was Harry's godfather, since he was the eldest and Sirius wanted the firstborn since he and James were almost brothers. However, Uncle Sirius seemed to gravitate towards Jamie. Harry never really was interested in practical jokes, as he was a silent kid who enjoyed observing. He half expected Uncle Remus to pay attention to him because he was similar to him, quiet and a future book lover, but the first time his uncles visited, the Potter parents had a lengthy discussion with Sirius and Remus. When they had returned from the dreaded dining room, Remus had silently stared at Jamie with a look of sympathy and pity which Harry at the time did not understand.

Presents from his uncles were given to Jamie first, then Harry. As a rather intelligent 3 year old, Harry noticed the small details such as how Jamie's presents cost more galleons and were either bigger or more popular amongst wizarding children. Harry began to realize he was a mere after-thought in regards to the Potter family.

* * *

When Christmas came that year, Harry and Jamie had cuddled together in one bed, as they shared a bedroom, since as a child Harry was unable to part with Jamie due to his protective nature. As early in the morning as possible, they had excitedly run downstairs to get a head start in opening presents. Their raucous laughter and glee at the large pile of presents awoke Lily and James, and they joined them, laughing and smiling along with their children.

Harry noticed that his pile of presents to plunder was significantly smaller to Jamie, but Harry reasoned that maybe his were of greater quality while Jamie had more quantity. Harry's smiling face slowly turned downcast as he realized that Jamie had both more quantity and quality. Harry only received gifts from immediate family and friends, while Jamie seemed to have received presents from all over the world. Lily and James stood guard on either side of Jamie, examining his presents before allowing him to open them. After Jamie had opened the present joyfully, Lily and James carefully wrote down the sender in order to thank the generous donor who admired Jamie's defeat of You-Know-Who. Silently comparing his presents to Jamie's, Harry's bottom lip quivered slightly, but he refused to spoil Christmas for the Potters and especially his dear twin.

"We finally have one other present for you Jamie!" Father said exuberantly. "And Harry too," Lily added.

"We recently decided to let you two have separate rooms! After all, with so many new toys and presents you cannot possible share that tiny cramped room any longer. We have already redecorated your rooms which are upstairs," Father said.

Both twins scrambled hurriedly upstairs, clambering after each other and giving shouts of excitement to one another. Lily and James grinned as they watched Jamie gasp in delight at his Gryffindor styled room that was directly next to their main bedroom. Jamie jumped onto his bed and giggled at his new spacious room.

Harry had followed Jamie into his new room, Jamie's happiness spreading to him as he grew more excited at his future room. Running back of Jamie's new room, Harry looked at the door next to Jamie's, but to his dismay it was only a guest bedroom. At first slightly confused, he then ran to the room on the other side of his parents' bedroom, only to find a bedroom turned storage room. Now extremely baffled, Harry then ran to the only other bedroom on the floor, the last bedroom next to the grand Potter Library. Steeling himself, Harry opened the bedroom and relaxed upon finding a similarly styled Gryffindor bedroom, only to realize that Jamie had a queen sized bed while he only had a full sized one.

Looking back out the door, he saw his mother and father exit Jamie's room holding both his hands and cheerfully explaining his new bedroom. Walking back to meet them, he cleared his throat slightly as they then turned their attention on him.

"Sorry kiddo, but the only other good bedroom was next to the library," James explained.

"I hope you'll like it, I know that you enjoy reading a lot more so I figured being directly next to the library would be nice, Harry," Lily added.

Harry made himself smile, saying, "I love it! And I'm glad Jamie and I have our own rooms cuz we're grown up!"

They all headed downstairs to enjoy a Christmas brunch, but Harry lingered at the back of the stairs.

"I like reading mommy and daddy, but I love Jamie and you all more," whispered Harry.

The next day after sorting presents, Jamie and Harry began the long dreaded process of signing in childish scrawl their thank you cards that would be sent by owl. James and Lily had a long list of Jamie's senders, but Harry had forgotten to ask them to keep track of his own presents.

"Harry, how could you forget to write down who to thank, and now that we've thrown away the wrapping we aren't sure who gave what," Lily admonished.

Harry didn't really see the problem. All his presents were from close friends and family only, so its not like he had a lot of people to thank. His mother and father seemed a little stressed at the long list that Jamie had, so Harry gave a small apology, disregarding the fact that he was only 3 and couldn't write or keep track of the senders himself.

That night Harry was feeling a little down about getting yelled at, and unnerved at the silence in the east wing of Potter manor, as he was the only one in that side. Harry wasn't quite adjusted from sleeping in a separate room from his twin either, and whenever one felt bad they would share a bed together.

Harry quietly opened the door to his twin's bedroom. "Jamie," Harry whispered. But to his surprise, Jamie was not in his bed. After thinking for a moment, Harry decided that maybe he was using the toilet, so he patiently waited on the edge of Jamie's bed. As the clock ticked, marking 15 minutes since he waited, he stopped his impatient swinging feet and sighed, knowing that Jamie couldn't possibly use the toilet for that long. A little worried, Harry went to his parent's bedroom to tell them he didn't know where Jamie was.

When he pushed the already open door open, Harry's eyes widened as he saw Jamie's figure nestled between his mother and father, who had one arm each lying across Jamie. Jamie cuddled further into the blankets and Lily ran her fingers through his head. Not willing to disturb the peaceful moment, Harry lightly closed the door partly and ran back to his bedroom.

Once he was lying back in his bed and covered himself completely in his sheets, Harry turned over these new events in his mind. Gone were the nights when Jamie would seek comfort in Harry's bed, or vice versa. Jamie could now depend on his mother and father, but Harry knew somewhere in his heart that he wouldn't be as welcome in his parents bed as Jamie would be. Harry felt like a failure as an older brother to Jamie, upset that he couldn't comfort his younger twin any longer. He tried to convince himself that he would be fine as long as Jamie was happy, but his fingers gripped his sheets tightly as he tried not to cry and awake the rest of the Potter family.

* * *

On their 4th birthday, the Potter family decided to celebrate their birthday in a grand party. Apparently their 4th birthday was also an important anniversary year of the start of the war, something like the 10th anniversary. Invitations were sent out to many pureblood parties, along with many of the Potters closest friends and old professors.

Harry and Jamie were both looking forward to this birthday celebration very much. Both of them reasoned that a larger party meant more food, sweets, presents, and attention. Jamie and Harry both thought of possible presents and food there would be at the party, talking to each more than usual as lately Jamie had been spending more time with his mother and father while Harry had begun to explore the Potter Library.

On the morning of the celebration, Jamie was dressed and both James and Lily fussed over him to make sure he was immaculate for his grand party. Harry was dressed and fed after him. When the party commenced, Harry and Jamie were told by Lily and James to greet the guests with a smile and make polite conversation.

As the day went on, everyone enjoyed the delicious food, wonderful conversations, and the charming Potter twins. But Harry's excitement over his own birthday party dimmed as he observed many things. Whenever he had wandered without Jamie, there was always a guest that inquired where his twin was, or for details about his twin, or what it was like to be the brother of the Boy-Who-Lived. Unwilling to turn angry over such comments from guests, Harry pushed it aside and played his role.

When it was lunchtime, everyone sat in seating that was arranged in accordance to Pureblood rules. Harry sat next to Jamie, who sat next to the head of the table, which was their father. Harry was used to such seating arrangements, and enjoyed the meal thoroughly. However, he did notice a couple of stern looking wizards and witches look in his area with questioning looks on their faces. Only later did he realize that they were from pureblood families and were confused as to why the heir and firstborn wasn't sitting next to the head of the table.

When Lily unveiled the massive layered cake in a formed in a giant Quidditch pitch shape with charmed flying broomsticks and various playing balls, Harry and Jamie were in awe. It was like sugar heaven to these young twins. Jamie was served first, and when Harry got his slice he realized that his name on the cake was second and smaller. He shrugged it off, but was a little bothered by it.

After the present opening, where Jamie got his bigger pile of presents as usual, the guests began leaving. It was late evening when his uncles were the last to leave, and Harry and Jamie were sent to go to bed. Yawning slightly, Harry undressed himself and pulled open his drawers to find suitable pajamas, smacking himself in the process. Wincing and rubbing at the sore spot, he chose his favorite snitch pajamas that his mother usually laid out for him but had forgotten this morning. Harry went in between his covers, leaving a part open so his parents would come and tuck him in. He closed his eyes as he waited for his parents to come. After what seemed a long time for a normal child, Harry grew impatient and wondered if his parents were still cleaning up after the party.

He climbed out of his bed, almost tripping on his dirty clothes in the process. After descending down the stairs and seeing nobody downstairs, Harry went back upstairs to go his parents' bedroom. As he walked past Jamie's room, he heard his father's booming laughter and his mother's bell like laugh as they read a bedtime story to Jamie together. Harry lingered a bit, savoring his parents' joy with Jamie, before walking sleepily back to his bed to wait longer for his parents. Finally, just as Harry was about to fall asleep, Lily and James entered the room. Both looked exhausted but still gave Harry a smile before tucking him in with a kiss to his forehead.

"Storytime?" Harry asked, sleepily.

His mother and father looked at each other before sighing. Lily replied back, stroking his hair, "Sorry honey, but your father and I are tired from the party so we can't tell bedtime stories tonight."

Harry nodded, turning over as they turned off the lights. James cursed as he tripped over Harry's clothes from the day, and scolded Harry for leaving them out.

Once they had left the room, Harry felt his eyes prickling with unshed tears. Were his parents lying when they said they couldn't tell bedtime stories? Or were they only unable to spare time for him? And why did they care so much about Harry neglecting his room cleanliness? Jamie had a dirtier room than him half the time but Mother and Father always cleaned it up after him or summoned a house elf to do it.

For the one of the first of many times during Harry's childhood, he experienced the feelings of a child who felt unwanted. Although he loved his parents, this was one of the first times when he felt ignored and inferior compared to Jamie. Harry wondered what made Jamie so special compared to himself.

Harry silently wished that tomorrow would go back to normal, like the days before Dumbledore came to Potter Manor and told supposedly distressing news to his parents that changed them inside out.

As sleep took over the young boy, a single tear escaped from his icy green eye.


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry for the long update, this chapter is probably the most I've tried to write in a week.

I've finished sorting out the rest of the plot, and hopefully there will be another update within this month.

And yes, this will be a Harry/Ginny pairing since I've included her into the plot later on.

Thanks for a very helpful reviewer who helped point out a stupid mistake I made :D I appreciate any reviews about any errors I seem to have made, or any ideas you want considered. I am also open for PM's. I don't really read over my chapter after I've typed it out of sheer impatience, so there may be tiny or huge errors present that I don't catch. Sorry!

* * *

Repeatedly, Harry would find himself trying to enjoy his place within the Potter household. He desperately wanted to feel as if nothing had changed. Harry within his mind could still remember the Potters as the perfect family in the family portrait taken months before that unforgettable night. But just as the house and the pictures were destroyed that fateful night, it seemed like that picture and his loving family would never be the same again.

It wasn't right to feel this way as someone who hasn't even reached puberty, but Harry now knew what adults referred to when they talked about fakeness and putting on masks. Harry still tried to love his family the same way, but wasn't sure if the feelings were equally reciprocated the other way. If he could pretend that nothing was wrong, if he could continue to smile, then maybe his family would revert back to their kind and caring ways was all that Harry thought.

His mother and father continued to care for him, but more indirectly than before. They took care of his necessities such as making sure he would get enough to eat, that he would be clothed, and that he wasn't sick; but they forgot to make sure that Harry met all his emotional needs.

But everything just seemed to become clearer day by day, as he observed silently his parents and uncles interactions with Jamie. Night by night, as his room turned colder without anyone coming to check up on him, his heart also grew colder. Gone was Harry's optimism that a family contained an unbreakable bond, that nothing could go wrong with familial support. Harry gained a broader perspective on things; he learned a different side that his beloved brother would never experience.

* * *

"Harry time to wake up!" Lily shouted outside his door, having already woken up Jamie, "Breakfast is cooking downstairs, Jamie's already down."

Harry grunted something that could pass as a reply, and then rolled over in bed. He half expected to hear his mother ask again if he was up, but she had already left. He got out of bed, half-heartedly pushing his nest of hair out of his eyes and finding his glasses on his bedside table. Yawning, he opened the door and went downstairs.

"Morning," Harry mumbled as he entered the dining hall. The elegant dining table only recently was being used for all meals. Only a couple years ago, the tiny table within the kitchen was where the Potters would crowd around and enjoy all their meals. It was not uncommon to hear laughter ringing from the kitchen, Lily at the stove cooking breakfast. Now the house elves cooked most meals, and the dining table had nicer plates and cutlery.

Hearing no reply, Harry began serving himself some kippers and was about to take the last slice of toast before Jamie suddenly cried out, "Hey I was gonna take that."

Harry looked around, first at Jamie, whose chubby face had an indignant look, and his parents, who merely cast him a suggestive glance. Sighing, Harry took his hand back. He opened his mouth slightly as if to say something, but quickly closed it back again.

"Father, are you going to take me out to play more Quidditch?" Jamie asked, stuffing his mouth.

His father, also stuffing his mouth, replied, "Sorry, today we got a visitor for you coming in 2 hours. Its Professor Dumbledore, remember, he was at Hogwarts with us."

Harry looked up in surprise at his father. Well, first off because the visitor was apparently only for Jamie, second because Jamie only referred to himself being taken to play Quidditch, and third, because it was Dumbledore himself coming over.

Based on the stories Harry and Jamie had heard from Dumbledore, he apparently was a great man who helped the Potters greatly during the war. Harry also knew from what he read that Dumbledore also helped in a different war involving Grindelwald, and was involved with the Ministry of Magic.

"What for, father?" Harry asked, curious. His father waited a bit to finish his toast, before replying, "Uh, he's coming to tutor Jamie for well, you know." James looked at Lily before she said, "Harry, I know that you'd want to be tutored by Albus also, but we as a family believe it would be better for Jamie."

Lily gave Harry a kind smile, and Harry by instinct nodded his head with a smile. But when talk resumed around the table about mundane topics such as Quidditch and playdates, Harry furrowed his brow. He knew that Jamie got preference over him, because he was the Boy Who Lived. Harry's parents never really used Jamie's status as justification, but Harry always knew it was the truth.

After just waiting around in his room for a couple hours, halfheartedly playing with Jamie's old toys, Harry heard the sound of the floo go on. Trodding downstairs, Harry looked around the edge of the staircase to see Professor Dumbledore carefully brushing the soot from his long beard.

"Ah, it's been a while since I've seen Potter Manor and not Godrics Hallow, James and Lily?" Dumbledore spoke with a twinkle in his eye. "Jamie, you've also grown so much these past years. I'm positively delighted to tutor you in anything necessary for your future," Dumbledore said to Jamie.

"If I am not mistaken, I recall there being a Harry in this house also?" Dumbledore directed towards James and Lily.

His father and mother exchanging glances, and about to open their mouth, no doubt in order to say he was just upstairs and wanted to stay up there, Harry left the staircase and walked to the middle of the living room.

"Sir, you are not mistaken. It's nice to meet you again, Professor Dumbledore," Harry said with a slight nod.

Dumbledore's eyes widened a bit at Harry's formal speech and modest, mature attitude. Smiling again, although with less of a twinkle, he replied, "Harry m'boy, I'm here to teach your brother in order to help him in the future, if that's alright with you."

Curious that his opinion was being asked for, Harry responded with, "Yes, sir, that's fine with me. I mean, anything for Jamie."

Yes, that was always the answer Harry would have to give. Everything and anything for Jamie. As Dumbledore and Jamie retreated into the study room, Harry left his parents and went to the Potter Library.

The Potter Library was very large, in comparison to normal eyes, but still would not hold a candle to more ancient Pureblood houses or even Hogwarts itself. It had its fair share of antique and valued books that were exclusive only to the Potter Library, and Harry rather enjoyed the muggle corner that his mother had added. His mother still enjoyed classic muggle literature and had many texts of muggle education that she probably couldn't bear to part with.

Lightly fingering the spines down the books, Harry contemplated his options. Although he loved his parents, to some degree, Harry knew Dumbledore coming over would only start the downward descent. Soon, he knew dinner conversations would revolve around Jamie's accomplishment in his training and that Jamie would receive more gifts as rewards for his training.

Harry hated it. He knew he would receive nothing. Harry hated the word nothing, because it was too similar to how he felt in the Potter household.

Opening a book titled, "Basics of Spell-Casting", Harry skimmed through the pages. Who needed company or comfort when none was given? Harry was fine by himself, without Dumbledore, without his parents, without his brother and his brother's status. He could make friends, although all would want to become friends with his brother first, because Harry was nothing special compared to him. Why play with Harry when you could play with the Boy Who Lived, who defeated the greatest evil in the past 20 years?

He would prove it. He would prove that he had something special, something that he could make for himself. Not anything that came inherited from his family, not anything that was special from little baby who had no knowledge of magic or of defeating evil. Harry wanted to earn something that would make himself seem equal, or even better, than Jamie.

And what better way to go, than to pursue the things that Jamie disliked? Harry loved reading, so he could gain knowledge in ways that Jamie would never be able to comprehend. Harry wanted to understand the world, the world that he has always read about, rather than Jamie, who loved being cocooned within the walls of Potter Manor and the tightening reigns of their parents.

Every day, Harry would read. Each week, Harry found himself putting back five or more books that he had completed throughout the week. From spell-casting, to potions, to muggle literature, Harry found his knowledge increasing while Jamie learned from Dumbledore. Dumbledore gave Jamie lessons twice a week, while Harry remained dedicated to his studies.

Many years ago, James had raised the question of having paid tutors for the Potter children, just as many pureblood parents did. Lily, however, had protested to this system, as she was unaccustomed to its practice. Lily had educated Harry and Jamie in the basics that one would learn in elementary school, but perhaps not as thoroughly as a muggle or wizarding early education. However, since at Hogwarts there was no test or pre-requisites for admission, many wizarding families did not have personal tutors before.

His parents at first had raised an eyebrow at his unusual behavior, but they had just marked it as being an unusual child. After all, their standards were based on Jamie, who was the perfect child because of his reputation. Jamie was loud, rambunctious, and mostly focused on having fun, like any normal child. After a short time, James and Lily simply ignored Harry's strange behavior and let him continue reading. In the beginning, Harry was still invited to play Quidditch with James and Jamie or to go on a playdate with Jamie and a friend, but after a while, these invitations steadily declined.

Harry justified himself pushing away his family and anyone he could make friends with by thinking that he could always prove himself later after all his hard work and then gain family and friendly affection. However, Harry didn't realize that his choices were all part of an endless cycle of declining love and attention. By being ignored by his parents, Harry shut himself off from everyone, leading to everyone eventually closing themselves to him. It was harder to his parents, his uncles, and Dumbledore to like such an introverted child.

Harry quickly discovered his mother's old Hogwarts books (his father threw them out as soon as he graduated, as expected) and studied them. He started with first year, and had moved onto 3rd year. Meanwhile, Harry read supplemental texts about any topics that interested him, including topics such as animagi, pureblood traditions, muggle government, muggle sciences, magical creatures, wandless magic, and nonverbal magic.

Wandless magic interested him the most at first. Without a wand, all Harry knew was concepts and not enough information to actually apply his knowledge to using magic. Although wandless magic is considered an advanced magic that most adult wizards are unable to accomplish, Harry had a different theory. The reason why wandless magic was difficult for adults was because they had become accustomed to using wands. Magic was innate and flowed throughout wizards, an almost infinite source that could do anything. But the problem was how to obtain the magic inside oneself and channel it to complete goals. Wands, because of their magical cores, emitted magical energy and could align themselves with their wizards' magic, resonating with a wizard's magic, explaining how the wand chooses the wizard. The magical energy within a wand acted as a catalyst to extract energy from one's body as it resonated and could draw out magic within objects. That also explained why magic could work on objects that supposedly had no magic within, because the wand is an outlet for energy from a wizard to perform work on the object. However, by removing the wand from the entire equation, magic would be simplified as the magic within would not have to go through the wand in order to reach the object.

Younger children could easily perform accidental magic, which to Harry was actually a form of nonverbal and wandless magic. Children have raw, untrained magic within them that has not been introduced to a wand. If one could embrace the raw energy within and train oneself to wandless magic from the beginning, not from a wand, then magic would be faster and stronger because it doesn't have to go through any intermediary objects such as wands. Then one can learn to use a wand more efficiently also because their understanding of magic is based on the raw magic within, and not based the belief that a wand provides magic and is the main source of performing magic.

Harry read books in the Potter Library about wandless magic, and modified the Hogwarts' curriculum for teaching it to adjust for his lack of experience with a wand. Eventually, Harry discovered how to call the magic within him most naturally and with ease, not needing the intense emotions that accidental magic required. Harry also discovered that by bringing forth his magic in this technique, that the Latin-based words of magic were unnecessary, the basis of nonverbal magic. Although the words of Latin could activate magic due to its deep roots in the creation of magic, by obtaining magic at the very core of one's body he could bypass using or thinking of the words and only imagining the task needed. Having a word to say only focused one's magic and was like a shortcut to do an action, but the nonverbal technique was an even more direct shortcut.

From muggle literature and the muggle textbooks of elementary curriculum Lily possessed, Harry understood the muggle world more. Although Harry also read pureblood books of rituals, customs, and traditions that all had tinges of blood prejudice, with his understanding of the muggle world allowed him to not be swayed by such propaganda. Harry also discovered the wonders of muggle science and technology, and was very interested in the similarities between chemistry and potions, and arithmetic with arithmancy. In Harry's opinion, the muggle world had far more advancements, and their wonderful sense of innovation could sometime in the future allow them to get over the barrier of lacking magic. Their way of thinking about how to create things without magic allows their creativity to surpass wizards, who rarely developed new spells.

Harry studied defense against the dark arts, herbology, healing, arithmancy, potions, divination, and other basic courses that Hogwarts offered, along with going more into depth of the topics Hogwarts simply brushed over. With a knowledge equivalent to a third year or more, Harry felt he would be able to succeed within Hogwarts.

However, even within such academic accomplishments, Harry still could not improve in his relations with his family and others. Recently, Harry found himself as the scapegoat of Jamie, an easy target. Since Harry was rarely seen and almost always quiet, Jamie found is easy for any mistakes made to be directed towards Harry. Although at first, Harry attributed it towards childish want for survival by pointing a finger at someone else, but he soon realized the cost of the title of the Boy Who Lived.

His brother Jamie was no longer someone he recognized, no longer the sweet, kind, naïve brother he knew at around 1-4 years old. All the compliments and congratulations of his accomplishments and training seemed to have gone into his head. Jamie went beyond brotherly rivalry and blaming it on Harry just to avoid punishment. Jamie was justifying his actions because he viewed Harry as inferior. Harry, although a brother, was nowhere near equal to him, a completely different playing field. Harry was only an afterthought in Jamie's mind.

The worst part that Harry realized is that his parents had developed a bias that viewed Jamie in the best light, making them believe anything Jamie would say. Even if they still loved him, it was incomparable to the amount of adoration they held for their youngest child. Jamie always came first, even if he was the youngest. James and Lily didn't have distaste for Harry, but more like slight indifference unless anything Harry did was related to Jamie.

* * *

It was a small surprise for Harry to receive his Hogwarts letter, because he didn't realize how much time had flown by, or of how much of a childhood he had deprived himself of by his own expectations and through the expectations of others.

"Mum, got any of my favorite bacon this morning?" Jamie asked, mouth still in the process of chewing.

Lily turned towards him, slight sad look in her eyes. "Oh my dear Jamie, I completely forgot to ask the house elves to resupply them. I'm so sorry!"

Jamie dropped his fork on the floor. Harry, recognizing his behavior as a precursor to an imminent tantrum, quickly finished his breakfast and subtly shifted his chair farther from the scene.

"Mum, you forgot my favorite bacon? Why would you forget about me? I'm not something you can forget y'know, and you remembered to have the eggs scrambled like Harry prefers," Jamie retorted, cheeks flaming while pounding on the table in indignation.

"You asked for the eggs scrambled because Harry likes it that way?" James asked Lily, chewing in a manner reminiscent to Jamie.

"I uh, didn't realize that…" Lily mumbled.

Standing up, Harry left his dishes on the table, walking briskly to exit the dining hall. As he was leaving, he responded by saying, "Unfortunately, scrambled isn't even my favorite. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't even ask for the house elves to make any of my favorites, seeing as you don't have any knowledge of them. By the way, scrambled eggs are Jamie's favorite, actually."

Pacing around the living room to calm himself down, Harry noticed an obnoxious tapping noise from the large window. There were two barn owls carrying letters around their legs, using their beaks to tap at the glass. Harry recalled that there used to be an open window all the time by the kitchen that the Potters used to eat in, but mail was now redirected here in case it contained anything dangerous or if somehow the owl would fly in and attack Jamie.

Opening the window immediately (his paranoid parents usually would check to see if there was anything dangerous about the owl); Harry untied the letters and offered an owl treat to each owl. Glancing at the letter, Harry recognized the distinct Hogwarts crest and the addresses. One was to Harry, the other for Jamie.

Keeping his letter in his hand, Harry observed the dining hall before walking in, making sure Jamie had stopped his tantrum and that his parents didn't seem angry at his snarkiness beforehand.

"This letter came," Harry said, handing it to Lily, the calmest at the table. Before Lily grabbed it, Jamie's stubby arm reached across the table, knocking over the marmalade, and snatched it from Harry's grasp.

"Excuse me, but I think this is for me, stupid. Of course it's my Hogwarts letter; they possibly couldn't have forgotten that at least. I see you didn't get one Harry, how interesting," Jamie said, rolling his eyes.

"Don't be so clumsy next time, dear," Lily said, absently wiping the spilled marmalade away. Harry felt a spike of anger in how uncaring Lily was over Jamie's mistake; if Harry had spilled something, he inevitably would have had to clean it up after a scolding.

"Harry's fault, didn't give it to Jamie," James said with a shrug, "And I believe Harry got his in his hand, of course I expect all my boys to be admitted into Hogwarts."

"Oh this is so wonderful! We can now go to Diagon Alley and buy everything for the boys!" Lily exclaimed, smiling. "I've also been curious about getting some new items for the house. I feel like I'll have so much extra time around the house with my dears gone!"

James nodded, swallowed, and replied, "Well, it's because you didn't take the Hogwarts job, I mean why would you want to teach Muggle Studies? Even though you'd be closer to Jamie, I make enough as Auror. I expect a promotion to Head Auror soon, though."

Lily smiled unsurely in reply. Harry looked curiously at his mother. When Harry was younger, he remembered his mother talking to Jamie and himself about how wonderful Hogwarts was and how she would give anything in the world to work there. Harry wondered what changed her mind, but as he looked at James smug grin, he realized that his mother was unable to part with his father or pursue her dreams because his father regarded her ideal career as unnecessary.

After the Potter family finished eating their rather unhealthy breakfast, they all went upstairs to get ready. Lily hurriedly tittered around, adjusting everyone's clothes and choosing matching colors, because she wanted to look presentable if in case the press showed up.

Harry left the Manor last, closing his eyes before flooing out in preparation for the imminent hordes of screaming fans, flashing magical cameras, and crowded walkways. Even though Harry was glad that they mostly surrounded his brother, he still felt a little left out.

They managed to go through one store for parchment and quills before a crowd started to appear. Harry cursed under his breath; it seemed that someone had alerted the press.

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter, may I have a quick quote from you?"

"Are you proud that Jamie has been admitted into Hogwarts?"

"Do you expect great things from him there?"

"Mr. Jamie Potter, are you looking forward to Hogwarts? Which house do you plan on, and will you be trying for Quidditch?"

Harry scowled, as the questions concentrated on Jamie and his future Hogwarts life. Why were they so interested? It's not like getting into Hogwarts is an achievement; most wizarding families had all their children listed as future Hogwarts students. Also, Quidditch does not allow first-years to participate, unless they expected Jamie to break that rule.

Pictures of the whole family were taken at Flourish and Blotts, although Harry smiled somewhat reluctantly. As Lily and James ushered them out from the bookstore, all smiles for the paparazzi, Harry gave a last lingering look on some of the pranking and books on spells and curses that he wished he had time to look through.

They reached Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, which was the only place suitable for the Potter's high quality clothing standard. Jamie had his tried on first, boldly proclaiming that he wanted his decked out in Gryffindor red and gold. He got probably more robes than necessary, all in the highest quality of wizarding fabric.

Harry, when he finally was measured, only said, "I'd prefer not to have my house colors on yet; I'm rather unsure of my placing. Are there robes that are spell activated to change house colors?"

Lily and James looked a little surprised by his comment, but Lily figured her Ravenclaw bookishness had appeared in at least one of her children. Jamie, however, smirked while smugly saying, "Figures he wouldn't be worthy of Gryffindor, I'll definitely get in there because it's the best. Can we hurry; I want to look at brooms at Quality Quidditch Supplies and Gringotts to look at our money."

There was a boy the next fitting area over, with many seamstresses fitting him, just like Jamie had. His platinum blonde hair stood out, as he talked to the seamstresses in an aristocratic drawl. He looked over at Harry, about to ask about his Hogwarts house or family, but spotted Jamie and figured it out himself. He turned quickly away from them, sneering a bit at Jamie's comment.

The seamstresses finished Harry hurriedly after Jamie's comment, and the Potters then rushed to Gringotts. Harry was confused as to why they didn't stop by the famous wizarding bank first before purchasing items, but he figured that the Potters had enough money on hand to not care.

After entering the door, which Harry had curiously inspected since the two guards outside had interesting spheres and to see if there was any indication of wards, James pushed his way to one of the front goblin tellers. "Potter family vault for us," he stated simply.

The goblin, pushing up his glasses and squinting down upon the Potters, said with a scoff, "Keys?"

James sputtered for a little bit, muttering, "Where did those dang keys go?" and "Bloody goblins, why do they need a key to know it's the Potters?" Lily sighed, before procuring the key and handing it over.

As they were escorted out by another goblin, Harry bowed his head to the goblin the Potters had harassed, saying in Gobbledegook to forgive their rudeness. The goblin looked back at him in surprise, before nodding back with a crooked smile.

"Ah, interesting manners you have here, Mr. Potter," the goblin leading them said. Lily, James, and Jamie were too busy conversing with each other to hear him.

"Yes….I'm sorry I didn't quite catch your name," Harry said, out of politeness.

"Griphook, and it's been a long time since any wizard has asked for it. How did one as young as you learn our language?" Griphook asked, lantern in hand as they started to board the mining cart.

"Reading mostly, but I've been interested in magical languages as they're extremely fascinating and useful. I wanted to try it out in a real situation today, and I'm surprised more people don't try to learn to improve wizarding relations," Harry remarked.

"Wizards don't care for such matters, Mr. Potter," Griphook said, then turned away to focus on steering the cart. When they reached the Potter vault, Jamie got out first, impatiently tapping his foot for Griphook to open the vast doors.

After Griphook pushed the key through and traced his hands along intricate lines in the door, the lock within clicked and the door opened. Jamie rushed through first, laughing as he stuck his hand through the neatly stacked piles of galleons. Harry frowned at his behavior, and even more at the fact that his parents didn't mind.

"I'm so glad to be a Potter, father; we have so much more than other people. Remember those poor Weasleys we sometimes have playdates with? I heard them talking about their small funds in their vault in the lobby upstairs," Jamie said in a condescending tone.

Lily lightly scolded Jamie while James filled a sack full of galleons. Harry lightly brushed his fingers against the rare tomes of books that were in the vault, along with the older artifacts the Potters possessed, such as paintings and metal objects. He laughed silently at Jamie's ignorance; the Potters weren't as rich as Jamie perceived them to be. Based on the location of the vault, which was only halfway down from the farthest and wealthiest vault, the Potter's were mediocre in comparison to the older Pureblood vaults that were the lowest down. Security was better the deeper down one went, since there was supposedly a dragon down there, and the longer time to get down would make it easier for the thief to be known.

After ascending back up and leaving Gringotts, Jamie saw Ollivander's and dragged them excitedly over, shouting that he needed to know what his strong would be right now.

The tinkling bell sounded as Jamie opened the door, but as they entered, it was apparent there was no one at the counter. Dust seemed to fly everywhere, and there were unstable piles of wand boxes stacked haphazardly in every corner.

"Hello? We would like a wand for Jamie Potter," Lily called out. Harry cleared his throat at Lily's blunder.

A frail hand emerged from behind a curtain in the back, and an old man with large, watery eyes behind glasses came out.

"Ah the Potters, I see. I believe you have two young ones, if I'm right?" Ollivander said, placing a wand box on the counter.

"Jamie would like his first," James explained, pushing Jamie slightly toward the old man. Ollivander scrutinized Jamie, who was brimming with excitement. "Interesting, the younger child first. I expected the Potters to come today even before the press came, and prepared some wands beforehand. Right or left hand?"

Jamie had his hand and arm measured, magical measuring tape doing the work while Ollivander pulled out some boxes.

"Try this, Mr. Potter, rowan with unicorn hair, 11 inches, supple," Ollivander said, handing it to Jamie. When Jamie waved it, nothing happened, and Jamie kept waving it, saying "Isn't it better if things work from the first time?"

"Unfortunately, no, it takes several times to find a certain wand that fits you, try walnut with dragon heartstring, 9 ½ inches, stiff," Ollivander said, and the same thing happened, which was nothing.

3 wands after, Jamie received gold sparks from chestnut with dragon heartstring, unyielding, 12 inches.

Lily and James applauded, while Ollivander seemed to have a confused look on his face. He grabbed the box that he had placed on the counter, apparently going to put it away, but then turned around to face Harry.

"Left or right arm, Mr. Potter?" Harry was asked. After replying right and being measured, Ollivander's trembling hands placed a wand into his hands.

"Cherry with dragon heartstring, pliant, 10 ½ inches," Ollivander said.

Harry held it and waved it around in the air, but nothing happened. Handing it back to Ollivander, he experienced a series of wands, from dragon heartstring to phoenix feather, from ebony to birch.

"I wonder…," Ollivander murmured under his breath. Opening the wand box on the counter, which was faded, Ollivander placed the wand that looked regularly cleaned and polished into Harry's outstretched hand.

"Beech with phoenix feather, supple, 11 inches," Ollivander said softly. He stood back, arms crossed in front of him, a slight reminiscent look in his eye.

Harry, interested in the strange actions of Ollivander, merely shrugged and waved this wand. However, the feeling he experienced was unlike any other wand he tried. Instead of feeling like he was waving a piece of wood around, Harry felt warmth emit from the wand and a connection to the wand itself, straight to his magical core. It was almost like gaining another part of one's body. A stream of what seemed like black glitter came from the tip of the wand, looking almost like the night sky.

"Interesting reaction….interesting…very interesting indeed," Ollivander mumbled.

"What is so interesting, sir?" Harry questioned, as James paid for the wand.

"It's just that I remember every wand and material that I have, and that core in particular came from a phoenix that gave just one other feather, to the person who gave your brother that scar," Ollivander said, pointing at Jamie's scar, although his eyes seemed fixed upon a different scar on Harry's forehead also. "The beech wood, interestingly enough, came from a very old tree that still remains on Hogwarts."

Jamie seemed to have heard enough, and abruptly left Ollivanders, tinkling bells clanging angrily. James followed, while Lily motioned for Harry to follow.

"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander. I look forward to using this wand in my future," Harry replied, before hurrying after them.

The rest of the day passed without many incidents, although the press did continue to hound them with questions and invaded the Potter's privacy. Harry had gone to Magical Menagerie with his family to look for their pets, or familiars as they were technically called, but both Jamie and Harry didn't see anything that stood out. Harry could have sworn that he had heard a lisping voice talking about rats and foolish wizards, but there was barely anyone in the store at that time.

Instead, they had gone to Eeylop's Owl Emporium, where Jamie had taken a liking to a tawny barn owl who was almost the biggest in the shop. Harry, on the other hand, was more interested in a beautiful, snowy white owl with warm amber eyes. After much debate, he decided to call her Hedwig after a historical figure he had read in a book, and he was pretty sure the interesting name was better than Jamie's newly named "Snitch".

The Potters ended the exhausting day by looking at broomsticks, where Jamie and his father were almost drooling over the new top of the line Nimbus 2000s, while Harry looked on in impassiveness. Harry knew there would be no chance that he would be on the Quidditch team as a first-year, although Jamie would probably try to.

Lying in his bed at home, Harry closed his eyes as he went through the events of the day. Turning over in bed, Harry sighed as he realized the growing distance between himself and his family. With only a few weeks remaining before Hogwarts started, Harry thought that he could either try to spend more time with his family before leaving, or he could continue pushing himself away and further his studies. Recalling what he had heard from his parents and what he had read from Hogwarts: A History, Harry felt his growing anticipation for the next stage in his life, away from the domain of his parents, although he was worried about having Dumbledore in charge. What would life at Hogwarts be like?

* * *

AN:

I was researching Ollivander's wand in anticipation for this chapter. Harry's wand is phoenix feather (staying true to the book), although I changed the woods from holly to beech. Although many of you think that beech is a cheap wood that you see in a lot of tables and furniture, beech actually has a certain Celtic meanings. In my opinion, Harry can make ordinary beech extraordinary. I took this from the Pottermore wiki:

"The true match for a beech wand will be, if young, wise beyond his or her years, and if full-grown, rich in understanding and experience. Beech wands perform very weakly for the narrow-minded and intolerant. Such wizards and witches, having obtained a beech wand without having been suitably matched (yet coveting this most desirable, richly hued and highly prized wand wood), have often presented themselves at the homes of learned wandmakers such as myself, demanding to know the reason for their handsome wand's lack of power. When properly matched, the beech wand is capable of a subtlety and artistry rarely seen in any other wood, hence its lustrous reputation."

I made his wand supple, because it was around the middle of the scale of bendiness. Ollivander states that the bendier a wand, the more willing for change the user is. On the other hand, I made Jamie's unyielding because of his stubbornness and unwillingness to accept new ideas.

For Jamie, his chestnut wand:

"This is a most curious, multi-faceted wood, which varies greatly in its character depending on the wand core, and takes a great deal of colour from the personality that possesses it. The wand of chestnut is attracted to witches and wizards who are skilled tamers of magical beasts, those who possess great gifts in Herbology, and those who are natural fliers. However, when paired with dragon heartstring, it may find its best match among those who are overfond of luxury and material things, and less scrupulous than they should be about how they are obtained. Conversely, three successive heads of the Wizengamot have possessed chestnut and unicorn wands, for this combination shows a predilection for those concerned with all manner of justice."

I paired Jamie with dragon heartstring, emphasizing his want of luxury and material things. This wood is curious, and I chose it because (as revealed later in plot) Jamie was destined for something else, something that would have aligned more with unicorn hair, an interest in justice. However, due to Jamie's changing egotistic nature, he is not suited to unicorn hair.


	4. Chapter 4

AN:

Well, I did say that another chapter of the Darker Half will be out by the end of March. I barely met the deadline this time. This one took a longer time, these chapters may seem longer (they take up almost 20 pages on word!) but only cover short time periods. Next chapter will be more about the first week of Hogwarts.

Next chapter hopefully out before April ends, especially if I can work on this during my spring break. However, AP testing is coming up...curse AP's.

* * *

The morning for departure came unexpectedly for Harry, although he was not protesting it. All feelings of anticipation and anxiety over attending Hogwarts vanished as Harry's lips curled at Jamie's disgusting manners.

"Mum, you haven't packed my trunk!" Jamie shouted from upstairs, seemingly just getting out of bed. It was already 10:00 in the morning, but Lily had insisted that her baby needed to rest up for the exciting day. Harry was up at 6:00, which was normal for him.

"Breakfast is already cold…poor Jamie, maybe we should make another," Lily said, brows furrowed at the thought of not giving the best for her prized son.

Lily called upstairs, asking Jamie what he would like for a good-luck breakfast.

"Every breakfast thing I like of course," Jamie huffed, before ordering his house elf Pokey to pack his trunk.

When breakfast was served, Jamie sitting next to James at the head of the table, Harry cast a longing glance at the waffles and French toast, which he preferred over the plain eggs and toast he had eaten this morning.

"Nuh-uh, Harry, I deserve this food. Besides, you've already eaten, fatty," Jamie mocked, before filling up another plate of bacon.

Almost sneering, Harry stood up from his seat, wanting to recheck his trunk, but Lily gave a small look and pleaded, "It'd be nice to have the family eating together. Afterall, it's the last morning we'll have together until break."

Harry scoffed, excusing himself by stating, "Oh I apologize, but I really must be rechecking my already packed trunk. Who knows what I'll forget." As Harry left the dining room, he head Jamie's obnoxious voice asking if he was allowed to bring a broomstick or the giant replenishing sack of money he had gotten for his birthday.

As Harry was walking upstairs, he passed Pokey adding last minute items to Jamie's trunk.

"Don't forget to add Jamie's favorite stuffed animal, I'm absolutely sure he'll want to bring that to the Hogwarts' dorms," Harry said, leaning on the opened door, giving a nod when it was added. After thanking the twitchy elf, Harry continued down to his room at the end of the hallway.

Opening his door, Harry was not bothered by the sparseness of anything personal, or of any of the gifts and knick-knacks that people always tripped over in Jamie's room. After opening his magically enlarged trunk, Harry made sure he brought all the reading materials that he knew he wouldn't find in the library at Hogwarts.

Closing the trunk with a hard push, Harry plopped down on his full-sized bed, the calming, neutral beige sheets wrinkling under his weight. His hand automatically started fingering his scar, absentmindedly.

"I wonder if this year will be any different…" Harry mumbled.

Thoughts of his recent years at Potter Manor flashed through his mind, ranging from happy giggling moments at Christmastime, with presents and wonderful food, to the same nights when Harry would silently let his tears pour, looking at the lonely Potter portraits in his room. From the angry indentations in the walls in his room, to the silent pacing in the library as he tried to understand a spell.

No, Harry had no doubts that life at Potter Manor would ever change, but Harry knew that he could escape its influence in Hogwarts, where he could establish himself as independent, unassociated with his dreaded brother. Harry laughed a bit, small smile on his lips as he imagined himself ahead of Jamie in classes, having more loyal friends than him, and having professors beaming at his accomplishments.

Harry had no anticipation and anxiety for Hogwarts; after all, those were the only things that had kept him motivated during his life at Potter Manor.

* * *

Even though Jamie and Harry had been told many stories about Hogwarts and the Hogwarts Express, Harry couldn't suppress a snigger at Jamie's panicked expression when they had to run into the brick wall. Harry cringed a bit at the rambunctious laughter, tearful goodbyes, and overall crowdedness of platform 9 and 3/4 .

"We can always mail whatever you've forgotten, dear," Lily said to Jamie, patting down his messy reddish hair.

"Don't forget all those tricks we taught you, right?" James chuckled.

Sirius barked out in laughter at that, remembering all the fond memories they had together. Even Remus cracked a small smile at that.

Harry's fingers lightly traced over his wand contained in his holster. He was always bored at conversations such as these, feeling as if he was the outsider. He cast his eyes into the crowds, noticing the confused faces of muggles and muggle-borns, along with the condescending glares of the aristocratic Purebloods.

Vaguely, Harry heard a voice calling him, so he turned his head back towards his supposed familial group, answering with a somewhat indifferent, "Yes?"

Lily gave a nervous smile, opening her mouth, before redrawing her words. Harry gave her a curious look, stamping out his fledgling hopes that she would bid him a loving goodbye.

"Just make sure Jamie stays out of trouble, "James said, nodding.

"Yeah, can't have this little guy land a detention within the week. Even though we managed to do that…not like I'm trying to encourage him to break out record I swear!" Sirius said, placing his hands up at Remus's accusatory stare.

Harry saw Lily look at James worriedly, and Harry knew that Lily's concern was not over his detentions but rather his Boy-Who-Lived status.

Harry gave a small nod, glancing at the clock on the pillar. Lily noticed his gaze and hurriedly led them to the doors of the train.

"It's the Boy-Who-Lived!" screamed one young Hogwarts student, pointing at the Potters.

Immediately, a crowd of reporters seemingly popped out of nowhere, pushing their automatic scribbling notepads with their magical cameras towards the Potters.

"The Wizarding Society wishes you luck at your term at Hogwarts!"

"What house are you planning for?"

Squeezing through the narrowing opening to the door, Harry sighed in relief when he was in the train hallway. Putting his trunk in the appropriate storage compartment, Harry carried Hedwig in her cage carefully to an empty compartment.

Sitting down, placing Hedwig in an empty seat, Harry was about to open his current book, "The Origins of Arithmancy" until the compartment door suddenly opened. Glancing up to see the person who would rudely enter without knocking, Harry was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Hello, Ron," Harry said, curtly. Ron, evidently disappointed at the lack of response, opened his large mouth, saying, "Er, yeah…just wondering if you knew where Jamie was?"

"He was sidetracked by paparazzi, in the meantime, I'm sure he'll appreciate if you save a compartment for him" Harry replied, now flipping through the book. Still hearing Ron's nervous breathing, Harry then added, "Elsewhere."

Ron left pretty quickly. The Potters and the Weasleys were politically aligned both towards the Light, making it expected for their offspring to befriend one another. Jamie and Ron frequently played with each other in Potter Manor or the Burrow, although Jamie obviously preferred Potter Manor's luxury. Harry was pretty sure that Ron had paused because he had forgotten the name of his supposed best friend's twin. Harry never felt jealous that Jamie had beaten him in gaining a friend first; Ron was unintelligent anyways for a Pureblood, or blood-traitor, and never could hold an interesting conversation with Harry.

It was almost time for the train to depart, and Harry had continued reading his book. He absentmindedly stroked Hedwigs feathers, smiling as she hooted softly. There was a faint knocking at the compartment door, and through the glass Harry saw a chubby, nervous looking boy.

"Come in," Harry stated, closing his book. The boy opened the door, smiling nervously at Harry.

"H-hello, Harry. It's b-been a long time, right" the boy asked.

Harry cocked his head to one side, contemplating that statement. Suddenly, Harry remembered that this was Neville Longbottom. The Longbottoms were friends with the Potter's during the war, and Neville had also played at Potter Manor, although less frequently since Jamie had declared him "boring and lame".

Harry gave a bright smile, gesturing for Neville to sit down. Neville smiled gratefully, and Harry assumed that no other compartment had available seats for this nervous wreck.

"How was your summer? I'm sorry I was unable to visit Longbottom Manor during summer at all. Did your grandmother finally update the greenhouses at your manor?" Harry questioned.

Harry had first met Neville when he had visited Potter Manor for a playdate with Jamie and Ron. Jamie and Ron had demanded to play hide and seek, and so Ron was running around the manor. Neville had run into the library, and then crouched behind a bush on the balcony where Harry was peacefully reading. The book Harry was reading had to do with the fundamentals of Herbology, which Neville then had excitedly talked to Harry about. Thus, Neville was heard from downstairs by Ron, and Harry and Neville had laughed and outraced Ron to Harry's room, which Ron refused to enter because he honestly was creeped out by Harry.

Although Harry didn't consider Herbology his favorite subject, with Neville's encouragement Harry had drawn parallels between Herbology and Potions, which was one of his favorites. Neville and Harry had frequently owled each other about Herbology questions and new studies, which was stopped this past summer because Jamie protested the family owl going to Longbottom Manor instead of going to the Burrow to deliver letters to Ron. Jamie had also complained about Neville playing with him and Ron at Potter Manor, since they never really had the same interests.

"Grandmother renovated all the greenhouses, except the one with tropical plants from South America. We want Uncle to take a look at the Flower of Vitality, since it's been losing petals and brightness lately," Neville replied.

Harry and Neville continued their conversations, touching briefly over Jamie and Ron, focusing on their futures at Hogwarts.

"Grandmother wants me to be in Gryffindor, like my parents," Neville mumbled, biting his lips in discontent.

Harry shook his head, replying that, "She can't force what house you're in. And I wish she would appreciate you for being yourself, instead of just the son of your parents."

Neville gave a small laugh, agreeing. "That's why I'm friends with you Harry. You never seem to mind about parental authority and aren't a pushover with Jamie."

"That's true. I swear, Ron should just call himself 'Jamie's Number One Fangirl' at this point," Harry sniggered.

"But seriously, Harry. What house are you going in? I'd say your parents would push for Gryffindor, just like Jamie," Neville pondered.

"Ordinarily, they'd never care, but this time it seems like they realize that Gryffindor would be the best choice because I could keep an eye on Jamie. They make it seem as if he's going to get into duels every day," Harry scoffed.

A loud banging sounded from the compartment door, and Neville opened it for a bushy haired girl. Harry mentally sighed, wondering if there was some sign on the compartment that said 'Please use this compartment for all your needs'.

"Excuse me, may I sit here? It seems like all the other compartments are full," the bushy haired girl said, before sitting down anyways.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her rudeness at not introducing herself, and asked, "No problems, Miss…?"

"Granger. Hermione Granger," she replied promptly, glancing around the compartment. "Ooh, what a nice owl you have there. A snowy?"

"Yes, and Neville here has a toad. I'm Harry Potter by the way," Harry said, gesturing towards Trevor. Hermione flinched at the sight, and Harry determined she must be muggle-born since Granger was not a wizarding name and since she obviously was not accustomed to the sight of toads.

"Sorry I had had interrupted your conversation. What were you talking about anyways?" She questioned.

Neville shot a look at Harry, who shrugged his shoulders and mouthed 'girls'.

"Hogwarts houses. I'm hoping for Gryffindor, while Harry here is undetermined. Possibly Ravenclaw or Slytherin, Harry?" Neville commented.

Harry had always considered Slytherin an option. Afterall, Slytherin was known for ambition, and Harry was ambitious ever since Jamie's newfound fame.

Hermione let out an audible gasp, drawing attention from the two boys. Upon their questioning stares, she blushed and stuttered, "Sorry, but isn't the Slytherin house evil? From what I know, they've done nothing good for society. Many books and modern articles I've read in the Prophet also reveal that those who commit crimes were from Slytherin."

Harry gave a wry smile, standing up. "Well, Miss Granger, I'm guessing you're the type who believes everything they hear or read. I'm sorry if we can't meet your expectations, but I don't tolerate anyone badmouthing something because of their naivety. Perhaps you should get your facts straight; many wizarding politicians are Purebloods who embrace their Slytherin side of ambition."

Harry opened the compartment door, gesturing with his hand and giving a small bow. "Thanks for visiting, Miss Granger. Maybe we'll see you along with other prejudiced Gryfinndors," Harry said coldly.

Hermione gave an indignant hmmph, then exited the compartment, not even looking back. Harry could almost imagine her rudely entering another compartment, saying that the other compartments are "full".

Neville eyed Harry cautiously. "It's pretty unusual to see you get worked up over something. Usually you're pretty calm and collected," he remarked.

Harry replied, "Well, can't have someone talk about my future house, right? Plus, I'm tired of people assuming they know things, or having too much impudence. It reminds me of Jamie and my parents."

Neville nodded, agreeing. Neville had seen firsthand how Harry was treated in the Potter household compared to Jamie, knowing that many people assume that the Potter family was perfect, or that Jamie was the perfect child, or even that Harry was happy to have the Boy-Who-Lived as a twin. Until he encountered Harry on the balcony, Neville had never seen or heard of Harry.

* * *

"Neville, it's so nice that you're here for lunch," Lily commented with a smile.

"Yeah, Jamie loves playing Quidditch and being outdoors," James said, helping himself to Lily's homemade sandwiches.

Jamie scoffed, and said, "I'd rather tell him stories about me, since Neville is terrible at Quidditch anyways. He should play with Harry too, he likes to do yucky reading."

"Harry? Who's that?" Neville said, thanking Lily for serving him some lemonade.

"Just my twin. He's probably upstairs in the library, it's so boring. And mum, this lemonade is too sour," Jamie complained.

Neville quietly reassured Lily that no, her lemonade was delicious, and as the day went on, noticed little things at the Potter Manor that made this Harry Potter even more mysterious.

Harry never came down for lunch, and no one had bothered to call him down. The table was set only for four, and Neville knew that he was expected for lunch, so he wasn't taking Harry's space. When playing tag with Jamie, in which Neville was declared "it" because he was fit to run around while Jamie would relax and hide, Neville had run past many Potter photographs. When he had looked closer, in less than half the pictures there was smaller figure next to Jamie. A pale boy, with messy black hair and bright green eyes, solemnly staring back at the camera. While the other photographs moved, occasionally smiling or looking down at Jamie, the boy either stared at the camera or looked off towards the side.

* * *

When an overhead voice told them that they would be arriving at Hogwarts soon, Harry and Neville changed into their robes. Both of them were of nice quality, but Neville already had a Gryffindor badge sewn onto his because his grandmother had insisted.

Harry left Hedwig in the compartment, after leaving a couple owl treats in the bottom of her cage, while Neville placed Trevor carefully into a cage also. As they exited the train, they heard a booming voice calling them over.

"Firs' years, firs' years gather here!" an enormous man bellowed, having a giant lantern in hand. A wild, mane like beard and haggard appearance shocked some first years, but Harry already knew who it was due to his parents' stories.

Neville and Harry got into a boat, joined by two shy girls. As the boat crossed the water, Harry heard many gasps in wonder. He could understand why, since Hogwarts was a massive castle that would be unexpected for a lot of muggleborns. Although it seemed a gray, imposing castle, the many lights that reflected onto the surface of the lake helped give a feeling of homeliness. Harry wondered what his next seven years in there would be like.

As they exited the boats, Hagrid led them up a pebbled path through a cave at the base of the castle. He told them to watch their heads at the low ceiling, and Harry stifled a laugh when Ron's lanky figure hit the ceiling.

As they ascended up the stairs, Hagrid stopped at the giant door and knocked three times with his massive fist. A women in emerald green robes with a tall witch hat exited from the door, opening the giant oak doors.

"My name is Professor McGonagall, I am the head of house for Gryffindor, as well as the Deputy  
Headmistress and the teacher for Transfiguration. Please follow me, the sorting will start soon," The elderly woman said sternly, leading them to a small room outside the entrance hall.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose points. At the end of each year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

She cleared her throat, before continuing, "Please wait quietly. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Harry pointed out to Neville that some of his buttons weren't buttoned correctly, and Neville blushed and thanked him profusely. Harry tried to brush his messy hair back, but even with the help of gel his hair was still slightly messy. Harry hated the hair he had received from his father, since he had to run his hands through his hair often to try to keep it somewhat presentable, looking like a self-obsessed person who was preening themselves. Ron Weasley had a dirt patch on his nose, but didn't notice since he was helping Jamie adjust his robes so he could look his "best".

"Ghosts!" a paling girl screamed, fingers pointed at the appearing apparitions. The translucent figures emerged from the side wall, apparently conversing with one another with their cold voices.

"Ah, didn't mean to scare you there. Ho! I'm Nicholas de Mimpsy-Porpingston, the Gryffindor House. I hope to have many of you in my house!" One ghost said, giving a slight bow to the petrified young girl. A dark splatter was present on his ghostly clothing, and he had a dark line across his neck.

A once beautiful ghost of a formal, young woman glanced at Harry, giving a small shudder. Her long hair gently lifted up, revealing a bloody dress and a sad, discontent look on her face.

Many people shivered at the thought of ghosts, but Harry and other Purebloods knew this was a common occurrence. Purebloods often venerated ancestors, and accepted ghosts as a common tradition. Ghosts always fascinated Harry; he was often curious about the process of ghostification and how they existed in both the plane of the living and the dead. To Harry, ghosts were about as interesting as the studies of Necromancy, a dark forbidden art that Harry wanted briefly touch upon, although the Potter Manor had no dark books, to his utter disappointment.

"Watch it! You've stepped on my robes!" Jamie almost shrieked, when a platinum blonde brushed too close to him.

"My, my, you're Jamie Potter, aren't you? I recognize you from the many Prophet articles," the blonde said, extending a hand, "I'm Draco Malfoy. I see you're already associating yourself with the Weasleys, I suggest you extend your friend group to higher people than them."

Jamie sneered, looking rather stupid on his chubby face. "I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, Malfoy. I know who you are, you filthy-"

"Excuse my brother, he has no idea what he is doing right now. As the next-in-line for the Potter family, I am pleased to meet you, and wish to extend that to all of your lineage, as well Mr. Malfoy," Harry interrupted, glaring at Jamie. Neville pursed his lips when Harry apologized to Malfoy out of all people, but understood the Pureblood significance. Sometimes, a rejection such as this could be taken as a rejection of alliance, or even a declaration of enemies. If Jamie had continued that sentence and accused Malfoy of being filthy death eater scum, as James usually put it, then the Malfoys and their political allies would know the Potter's prejudice and would never ally with them.

"Ah, it's alright… Mr. Potter?" Draco said, shaking his hand instead, looking confused as well as many of the surrounding crowd about the appearance of another Potter. Before he could continue to say anything else, the doors to the Great Hall opened.

Professor McGonagall was on the other side, and she led them towards the Head table. There, on a stool, laid a worn and battered hat. The ceiling of the Great Hall looked transparent, but at a closer look, was really just a ceiling transfigured to look like the night sky.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read it in Hogwarts, a History," whispered Hermione to her female companion. Harry snorted, put off by her arrogant bookishness.

Soon, the hat by the teacher's table began to sing.

"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm a Hogwart's Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong to Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong to Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin,

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a thinking cap!"

(-HP and the SS pg. 118)

By now, Harry supposed he was used to singing, magical objects; afterall, he lived in the wizarding world. But he was worried about the fact that the sorting hat could probe his mind to find out what house he belongs to. He had always been a private person, and hated to disclose every emotion or feeling to someone, or rather, something.

What made Harry feel even more worried was the fact that he was in Dumbledore's domain; Harry had moved from the restrictions of the Potter household straight into Dumbledore's lap. Harry knew that even though he gave off that grandfatherly ambiance, Dumbledore was really a proponent of the Light, the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, had political influence, and favored Jamie over him.

Professor McGonagall unrolled a scroll, and began calling names. Feeling Neville panic besides him, Harry gave him a reassuring smile.

Even if he was sorted into a different house from Neville, Harry knew they would remain friends. Even if they were in enemy houses, Harry would hope that they could find a compromise. House rivalries were infantile in his opinion, just reflections of political sentiment at the time.

"Granger, Hermione!" was called out, and Hermione rushed to the hat and almost shoved it onto her head. Harry hissed at how she treated such an old artifact that existed in the times of Salazar and Godric.

"RAVENCLAW!" was then called out, surprising Harry somewhat. With intelligence (albeit arrogant), like hers, it was no surprise that she was in the brainy house; however, her personality matched Gryffindor stupidity also, in his opinion.

"Longbottom, Neville!"

Neville froze when he heard his name, but Harry gave a small push to encourage him. Neville nervously walked, and visibly cringed upon having the hat on his head.

It took considerably longer than the others before him, but the hat finally declared,

"GRYFFINDOR!" to Neville, and he smiled in reluctant gratitude.

"Malfoy, Draco!" was called, bringing light whispering as Draco walked, an aristocratic sneer upon his lips. The hat barely touched his platinum blonde hair before screaming,

"SLYTHERIN!", earning the applause of the Slytherin table, unlike the screaming of the Gryffindors when Potter was finally called.

"Potter, Harry!" was called, and the applause stopped, as people began whispering in confusion.

"There's another Potter?"

"Is it a twin of the Boy-Who-Lived?"

Harry seethed; a little upset about how he was just associated with Jamie, how he was just "a Potter". What about him being an individual person?

He calmly walked up to the stool, ignoring Dumbledore's gaze. His palms grew damp, but Harry knew he had to keep a calm exterior, unwilling to display foolish, Gryffindor emotions like his family. A true Pureblood always acts calm, and superior.

"**Hm…difficult mind of yours, eh? You seem to protest letting me into your head."**

"**Please elaborate," **Harry thought.

"**Occlumency. You seem to have a basic knowledge of it, and basic barriers, but it is still impressive for one your age, isn't it, Mr. Potter?"**

"**I suppose, but is it not unusual for one of my status?" **thought Harry.

"**You are smart, oh yes. But you have bravery and loyalty to those you love, although that list is few. You have a very, very nice thirst to prove yourself to your brother, parents, and the wizarding world. Plenty of ambition. You have qualities of all the houses, but your ambition stands out the most."**

"**I have no objections towards Slytherin. My family does not matter enough to influence what is best for me. I am not afraid of the fallout."**

"**Strong determination as well. Well, better be-" **

"SLYTHERIN!"

Small, scattered applause came from the Slytherin table. Harry could feel the pressure of the stares of all the tables, also with Dumbledore and his brother. Swallowing, Harry smoothly walked to an open seat at the Slytherin table, ignoring the whispers.

"A Potter? In Slytherin? That's rare."

"Brother to the Boy-Who-Lived, what a disappointment."

"The Potter's black sheep."

Professor McGonagall then called out Jamie's name. Loud applause rang from almost all tables, and many shouted their desire to have him in their house.

"Pity, they'd do better off without him in their house," Harry mumbled, not noticing Draco had heard that, eyes widening in shock at the statement.

Jamie straightened his button up shirt, which was strained across his wide belly, then brushed off his shoulders as he walked up to the stool.

Even though the hat only talked to one's mind, Harry could still tell that the conversation was not going well. Jamie's face was slowly turning red enough to match his hair, which Harry had long ago determined to be a sign of an inevitable tantrum.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat, although the voice seemed somewhat strained. Harry immediately turned his hand to look at Dumbledore, whose face betrayed to emotion, but Harry had noticed that his gaze was upon the hat, and one hand was below the table. Harry frowned, wondering if Dumbledore had reached for his wand to change the hat's decision, or had placed an imitating charm to say the decision himself in the hat's voice.

The sorting ended with "Zabini, Blaise" a tall, Italian boy who was sorted into Slytherin. Harry glanced around the Slytherin table, noticing all the first-years, and judging the characters of the older years. The older years all had the same guarded look, and conversation flowed less among the Slytherin table in comparison to the rowdy Gryffindor table, which was celebrating Jamie's admission.

Dumbledore gave a small speech, and Harry tuned him out for most of the time. He did, however, catch a few important sentences, such as how the third-floor corridor was to be avoided unless one wanted a painful death. He honestly wondered how Hogwarts ever passed any health or safety regulations. Some of the teachers seemed either threatening or unstable, while Dumbledore's sentence seemed inappropriate in a school setting.

As Harry tuned out the speech, he cast a calculating look upon the teachers. None were remarkable, although Harry easily recognized Professor Snape by what James had described.

Food suddenly appeared, and Harry's mouth almost watered at the sight of the variety of foods. Jamie had always requested his favorite foods, so Harry never got to taste other foods that often.

After serving himself, Harry listened in to the conversations around him. From what he could judge, many of them grew up together. All the Purebloods seemed to know each other.

"Interesting year for us first years. Do you reckon he was joking about the painful death?" Blaise questioned, scooping up some mashed potatoes.

Harry gave a small laugh, causing many in the group to look at him curiously. The Slytherins honestly didn't know what to make of this Potter, the first Potter in Slytherin since the Potter's had turned to the Light.

"If he was joking, obviously some regulations need to be enforced here. Or, Dumbledore has a crazy sense of humor to match his questionable personality," Harry merely stated, picking at the fried chicken, which he disliked since it was Jamie's favorite.

There was a small pause of silence, before Draco Malfoy shrugged and said, "Nice observation. Well, my father is on the board of governors, and they've been trying to remove Dumbledore for years."

Conversation continued after that, and Harry knew that by Draco's statement he knew of Harry's opinion of Dumbledore, and that he accepted Harry's place in Slytherin.

"Sorry about the incident with my brother earlier," Harry apologized to Draco. Draco waved his hand, dismissing it.

"It's fine, I'm sure your idiotic brother is nothing like you. I heard your comment about him earlier. Am I correct in assuming that you dislike him?"

Harry grinned. "Oh yeah, I do. I'm sure more than half of this table isn't bought over by half of his accomplishments, and dislike his obvious Light prejudice."

Blaise leaned over, joining the conversation, saying, "Oh, so you're saying you don't like the Light side? It'd be no wonder why you're sitting with us then!"

Harry nodded, offering a small explanation that, "The Light side is not politically sound; they want to completely control all Dark aspects, but cannot agree on the right ideals."

Blaise laughed, saying, "And that's why my family's neutral. No one's hurt, and we don't have to join the naïve Light nor the dangerous Dark."

Draco scowled. "So you consider the Dark as dangerous, Zabini? What about your mother? I would consider her dark as well for all the questionable incidents that your step-dads face."

Shrugging, Blaise agreed with Draco in that matter.

"That's Professor Snape, correct?" Harry asked to Draco, gesturing to the teacher's table. "The one next to the turbaned teacher?"

"Yes, he's also my godfather. He's the best Potions Master Britain has to offer. The turbaned teacher is Quirrell, he's new," Draco replied.

"Well that's wonderful. I'm sure I'll get on Snape's bad side within the first day of meeting him. He has a bad past with my father," Harry murmured.

Draco gave a small grin. "Don't worry, Snape will try tolerable to any one of his snakes. Even if you are a Potter, you do seem different from that lot. Besides, you seem to embrace more Pureblood ideals that them."

Harry agreed. "Just because my family is associated with the Light, doesn't mean they should follow muggles and ignore Pureblood traditions. It's disgusting how much my family doesn't uphold the olde traditions."

After desert, the Slytherin prefects led the first years down to the dungeons. It was noticeable damper and colder down here, but as they entered the commons room after the password, "Salazar", Harry wasn't disappointed.

Decorated tastefully in silver and emerald green, the Slytherin's common room looked simply luxurious. Unlike the Gryffindor common room, which was described by the James, Sirius, and Remus and homely, the expensive furniture and darkened light suited the Slytherins well. Besides, Harry wouldn't have liked the Gryffindor common room, because he didn't feel at home anywhere.

Professor Snape was standing outside of the first year dorms. He looked down his sharp nose at them, his long, black robes cutting an imposing figure.

"Welcome to the Slytherin Common Room. While I congratulate you on earning your way into Slytherin, I would like to remind you that your next seven years will not be to mess around. I will not tolerate any rule breaking or anything to shame the Slytherin name. Ambition is the virtue of Slytherin, so I encourage you to apply yourself to your studies correctly. As Slytherins, we never betray each other or show division to other houses. If you ever have any problems, report to your prefects, who will then report to me if it is of utmost importance. Tomorrow morning, you will meet here at 7:15 sharp so we may depart to the Great Hall together to receive your schedules. Classes start at 8:00, and it is expected that you know where your class is beforehand. Curfew for first years is 9:00, meaning you will not leave the common room by that time. You will be allowed to the library after 9:00 with a pass. You are dismissed," he curtly stated.

Professor Snape then walked away, his robes blowing behind him. He spared a small glance at Harry, keeping a straight face. Harry was unsure if that meant Snape accepted him or not. The Slytherin boys quickly claimed their beds. Harry received a bed in between Malfoy and Zabini. Theodore Nott was closest to the door, while Goyle and Crabbe were next to Malfoy.

Their pets were by the door, and Harry put Hedwig's cage by his bedside table. Opening it, he fed Hedwig a couple of owl treats before letting her fly out of the window.

Draco had a large black owl, which was called Corvus, like the crow constellation. He also let Corvus out of the windor. However, Harry noticed that Draco had another cage by his bed.

"Is that a snake?" asked Blaise, who was petting his barn owl, Artemis.

Draco smirked. "Yes, I convinced my father to buy it for me in Diagon Alley. It is a proper Slytherin pet, although it is poisonous so I can't play with it. It's rather a bore."

"What's his name?" asked Harry, instinctively getting closer to the snake. It was a dark gray, almost black, with a length of 3 feet. Its serpentine eyes beadily stared at Harry, black tongue flicking out.

"Serpus. He's a black Mamba, one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. This species was supposed to grow out to be almost 8 feet, but it seems like a stunted one," Draco boasted.

"_Serpus is for malessss. I am called Layali, Arabic for nights." _Harry heard, slithering from her forked tongue.

"_And a beautiful name that is, Layali," _Harry replied.

Draco and Blaise gasped, Draco almost dropping his book. "You speak parseltongue?" Draco exclaimed.

"Parseltongue? What do you mean?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.

"_You are another sssspeaker of the tonguesss, are you not? It is an honor to meet one, they are rare to find," _hissed Layali.

Harry's eyes widened. "Apparently I did without even realizing it. It's a she, and her name is Layali, its Arabic for nights."

"_May I have the honor of being your familiar, ssspeaker of the tonguessss? I will no longer bite, if you want" _Layali hissed again.

"Draco, I think she wants to be my familiar now," Harry said, reaching his hand in between the cage bars. Layali flickered her tongue over his hand.

Draco looked uncomfortable at Harry's closeness. "Don't do that! He's-I mean she's- highly venomous!"

Harry laughed. "She said she wouldn't bite me if I'm her owner. I can compensate for her price, if you want. She's a rare breed, must have been over a hundred galleons."

Paling, Draco just stuttered out a, "T-take it. It's not like I could have done anything with a snake anyways. I-I expect a great Yule present instead."

Harry smiled at the offer, and then unlatched the cage. Layali immediately slithered up Harry's arm, wrapping herself around him like a long, coiled bracelet that covered his entire forearm.

"_Is it possible if I am carried around like thisss, ssspeaker?" _

Harry nodded, saying "_My name is Harry, and I can let you do that as long as many people do not see you." _

"Thank you, Draco. Now, is it legal if one has a snake as a familiar? Is it fine to have both an owl and a snake?" Harry asked Draco.

"Maybe, but as long as no one notices and reports you'll be fine. I can't believe you're a parselmouth though. Only the heirs of Slytherin are," Draco said, jealously seeping into his voice.

Blaise shuddered. "As long as that thing is away from me, I'm okay with it."

* * *

Dear Mum and Dad,

I got into Gryffindor, just like I knew I would! The bloody hat took a long to decide it, so it must have been overwhelmed to have the Boy-Who-Lived under it. Gryffindor seems nice, and Ron got in with me too. I hope to get some care packages from mum, I miss the homemade cookies you treated to me all the time.

The Gryffindor dorms are rather small compared to my room. I mean, who puts 5 boys into one dorm?! It's ridiculous, I want my own room since I deserve one. Professor McGonagall seems as serious as dad said.

By the way, Harry got into Slytherin. I'm not sure if he was going to tell you, so I'll say it for him. Can you imagine, the first Potter in Slytherin in over a hundred years! It's a disgrace, I'll tell you that. Even Hufflepuff would have been better for a snake like him. He's hanging around other snakes now, like Draco Malfoy. Malfoy almost tripped me before the sorting, and just when I was gonna yell at him Harry comes in and apologizes. Can you believe that?

Classes start tomorrow, and I know I'll be first since I've gotten lessons from Dumbledore himself. Snape looks like the greasy git you mentioned. I have potions tomorrow, ew.

Love,

Jamie

* * *

Dear Mother and Father,

If by now you haven't heard from Jamie, then I would like to inform you that I was sorted into Slytherin. Jamie seems to be fine with Ron Weasley in Gryffindor. I have some classes with them for joint Potions.

I will send monthly owls, but I suppose Jamie will tell you more of what is going on here. It is still undetermined if I will want to come back for Yule at Potter Manor.

Harry

* * *

Dear Mother and Father,

I am proud to tell you that I was sorted into Slytherin, like all Malfoys should be. I was proclaimed Slytherin even before the hat fully was on my head.

Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Vincent Crabbe, and Greggory Goyle were all sorted into Slytherin with me. Zabini still seems to be neutral, while the rest are dark. I will follow your advice, father, and will try to prove my superiority over them and to convince Zabini over to our side.

On the other hand, a certain Harry Potter was also sorted into Slytherin. I was unsure of his true intentions, as he is the twin of Jamie Potter, but have established friendly relations with him. He seems to reject his Potter side; he dislikes both his twin and the Potter's light politics. We first met when Jamie Potter accused me of stepping on his robes since I was pushed into him. Before he was going to finish calling me a filthy- Harry Potter apologized as the next-head-of-line and extended his pleasure of meeting me to the Malfoys as well.

Even more disarming is the matter of Serpus, the snake that you allowed me to bring. I was preparing to feed her, when suddenly Harry was speaking parseltongue with her. He tells me Serpus is a female, and requested that he buy her off from me. I was quite shocked, and gave the snake to him, and now he owes me. He seemed unaware that he spoke parseltongue until he encountered a snake.

Classes start tomorrow, and I expect mother's care package to come soon. I know I will be at the top of the classes, as expected of a Malfoy.

Draco.

* * *

AN:

I may have made Hermione seem ruder and bitchier than she usually is. She will play an important part later on, and will have a personality change. Here, she is still realizing that intelligence isn't everything and that she needs to posses humbleness.

Draco may have come off as friendly, but remember, Slytherins can be tricky. He's more accepting since Harry acts more like a Slytherin, and more like a Pureblood as well. I think I will make Draco one of Harry's Slytherin friends, along with Blaise. Both of these Slytherins will play big roles later on the grand scheme of things.

Ron will basically be Jamie's slave, and will suck up to him for whatever he wants. Not a lot of Dumbledore/Snape interaction with Harry yet, but that's still coming up.

I like Neville's character, and I like this new characterization of him. Neville will still be shy, but more open around Harry. He's one of Harrys first and few friends, and later becomes a valuable person.

Slytherin was the best and only choice for this plot, and for Harry's overall personality. I'm not sure whether to make him snarky or cold, so I tried my best at being in between.

Next chapter (before end of April): First week at Hogwarts, and the Halloween incident.


End file.
